Fhetani High's learners may soon have safe passage over river

For several decades, periods of heavy rain have been a nightmare for the residents living in Hamutele and the surrounding areas, especially for learners and teachers at the local Fhetani High School. At times, these villages could not access one another during heavy rains because of the overflowing stream.

The good news is that all this agony may soon be relieved, as the Musina Municipality has secured R3.5-million in funding from the Municipal Disaster Response Grant to address the problem.

A session to introduce the project engineers was held at Mutele Tribal Office last Friday. In attendance were representatives of the tribal council, local community structures, a delegation from Musina Municipality, and engineers from Diges Group. The latter are tasked with producing sketches of the project and handing them over to the municipality for a contractor to be appointed.

Musina Mayor Nkhanedzeni Godfrey Mawela told the gathering that for the community to be fully involved at all stages of the project was important. “We are here today to introduce these engineers to you, the community, so that you can assist them with any information in order for them to come up with something that will be relevant to your needs,” he said.

Mawela stressed that because of the urgency of the project, everything, including construction, should be completed in four months. “We have to move with speed to ensure that this project is completed before the heavy rainy season. We are also aware that the grant we received for this project is not substantial, but we need to do everything possible with the limited budget without compromising the quality of work.”

An engineer from Diges Group, Moses Makuruvi, said they would consider two options when drawing up the project designs. “Depending on the available resources, we will explore possible designs and reconstruction of low-level river-crossing draining structures along the dependent stream or refurbishing the damaged, abandoned old Mutale River bridge that leads to Fhetani High School. We can also consider working on both sites if the resources allow, but we need time to work on the designs as fast as possible to allow the contractors enough time to finish the work,” he said.

News in brief - Date: 12 April 2024

Email: